Behind a neighbor’s house, with little more than a mattress and a few tires, Jesse Lawson began wrestling to channel the feelings of pain he felt in a community that offered him few other outlets. Finding in wrestling a hard-won performance art, he founded and carefully crafted the Spokane Anarchy Wrestling League. In this humane, subtly haunting vérité short, we meet Jesse as he transitions to managing the league and introspectively aches for his former outlet. Witnessing Jesse’s home, matches, and the relationships with friends and family he anchors around the ring, we see how the sport has come to be the center of his community and catharsis. Rendered deeply memorable by the grizzle of Jesse’s voice, From Parts Unknown is a mysteriously felt film, bleak but enduringly earnest about the methods through which only we can make sense of our deepest selves.  SD

Q&A following screening